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Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe.

Anthills of the Savannah is a novel nominee for the 1987 Booker McConnell Prize by well-known author Chinuah Achebe. In this novel, Chris Oriko is the Commissioner of Information as a cabinet member in Africa, which is a role appointed to him by the President of the country, who is also a childhood friend of Chris’s. Chris finds himself struggling with Ikem, who is also a childhood friend, and the person Chris has appointed as the editor of the area’s newspaper, the Gazette. In addition to Chris’s struggle with Ikem on a professional level, there also seems to be a personal conflict pertaining to Ikem’s friendship with Chris’s girlfriend, Beatrice.

Two years prior to the novel beginning, there was a coup in Africa that put the current President, His Excellency into power. At the time and throughout the novel, it appears his Excellency is running the country as a democratic dictatorship. This form of government, however, is challenged throughout the novel and results in a conflict between the politicians, the friends and the country as a whole.

Once Chris realizes the political unrest in the country is about to cause a problem and he sees the signs of trouble on the horizon, he jumps into action to undercut His Excellency and remove him from power, but in an indirect way. Chris uses the power of the written word and news stories, rather than attacking and murdering the President to get him out of office so things can change for the better in the country.

Ultimately, the coup occurs, but not without the loss of life of several of the characters in the novel in the process.